The Crown Jewels (33 page)

Even if it was Beau.

Even if my brother’s didn’t approve.

I had gone back home the next morning, and none of them would speak to me. I was sure they assumed I had spent the night at Beau’s, and I let them think whatever they wanted. I didn’t care anymore.

Beau was scheduled to go last, and there were three more competitors before it would be Beau’s turn. When they called his name, I scanned the sea of hats until I found his familiar black Stetson. I nudged Ruby with my elbow.

“There!” I said, pointing. She didn’t need an explanation. She knew who I was looking for. I had filled her in a little, and of all people, Ruby was the only one who seemed to approve of my forbidden whatever-it-was with Beau.

“He’s so damned handsome!” she exclaimed. Blood raced through my veins as my stomach began churning with anxiety. Suddenly, the thought of something happening to Beau overwhelmed me, and I was stricken with dread.

“I don’t know if I can watch this,” I mumbled, burying my head in Ruby’s shoulder and covering my eyes with my hands.

“I’ll watch for you. Damn, he has really muscular thighs, doesn’t he?” she asked teasingly.

“Shut up,” I said, spreading my fingers so I could watch.

A rider has sixty seconds to prepare in the chute and the eight second countdown starts as soon as it opens. Those sixty seconds are almost as excruciating as the last eight. I watched with my heart in my throat as Beau steadied himself in the chute, securing his gloved hand under the rope and bracing himself for the violent impact the wild bull beneath him was about to unleash.

He nodded twice and the gate opened. The bull exploded from the chute, bucking violently and relentlessly, throwing its entire body in every direction. Beau’s hat flew off and his hand flailed in the air behind him, whipping left and right uncontrollably as Beau held on expertly and seemingly effortlessly. Every eye in the arena was on the pair, as they moved together as one, impressing even the most seasoned spectators. By the time the buzzer sounded, Beau was almost smiling.

He let go of the rope, the inertia of the still bucking bull throwing him to the ground. He jumped to his feet easily, retrieved his hat and strutted like a prized cock out of the arena. Confidence oozed off him, as the crowd roared.

It was a perfect ride, and everyone knew it, including Beau. Crit, too, watched closely. He stood to the side with Dustin, his forehead wrinkled in concentration as he waited for the judge’s scores.

They didn’t make us wait long. Beau made it to the next round with the highest score of the night - a near perfect ninety-nine. Ruby and I jumped up and down in the bleachers, and my heart soared with joy.

I was dying to be near him, so I grabbed Ruby’s hand and led her down the stairs. As soon as I spotted Beau coming out, I ran up to him and threw my arms around him.

I didn’t care who was watching. I didn’t care that I could see Crit scowling over his shoulder as he watched me kiss him. Beau seemed a little taken aback at first, but after a quick second’s pause, he kissed me back full force, picking me up and spinning me around.

“You did it!” I exclaimed. “I’m so proud of you,” I said, as he put me back on my feet. I spied Crit again, and turned his way. Ruby was standing next to him watching us, and as I slowly came back to Earth, I noticed everyone else was watching us, too. Seth and Jesse stood in the corner, the scowls on their faces matching their brother’s. Even Finn stood off in the corner by himself, his arms crossed as he glared at us.

I lifted my chin, walked over to Crit, and kissed him on the cheek as he stood as still as a statue.

“Congrats to you, too, Crit. You both made it! That’s wonderful!” Crit looked down at me, his eyes narrowed, and then he turned and walked away without a word.

“Crit!” Ruby called after him, but he ignored her, thundering down the hallway that led to the locker rooms.

I sighed and turned back to Beau.

“I think a celebration is in order!” I said to him, ignoring Crit’s immature bullshit.

“Oh, yeah?” Beau asked, cocking his head to the side as he grinned at my enthusiasm.

“Yes, tonight!” I replied, practically jumping up and down.

“Sounds good to me. I’ll pick you up in an hour? I need a shower and to take my things home.”

“No,” I said, letting Crit and his ridiculous silent treatment get the best of me. “Let’s meet at LaCroix’s.”

“You got it, babe,” he said, kissing me on the cheek and walking down the same hallway that Crit had just disappeared down.

I turned back to Ruby with the biggest smile on my face.

“Well don’t you look like the cat that ate the canary,” she drawled.

Beau

Well, I’ll tell you, I was so damned happy about my near perfect score, I could have just burst wide open. But as soon as I exited the arena, I caught Crit’s eye, and I knew he wasn’t happy. Now, whether he was more upset about my score, or the fact that I was smitten with his sister, I couldn’t tell you, but if I had to wager a guess, I’d say it was the fact that Georgia and I had taken a liking to each other that was bothering him more than anything.

Hell, we’d competed against each other dozens of times, and he’d always been a gracious contender. He’d certainly never gave me the stink-eye that he just gave me before tonight. Of course, I’d never full on kissed his sister in front of him like that either.

I understood, I did. But as far as I was concerned, he and his brothers were just going to have to get used to me being around, because I wasn’t about to let go of Georgie anytime soon.

Crit was the only one in the locker room when I entered it. He was gathering his things, and when I walked in the room he glared at me like I had just…well, like I had just kissed his sister, I reckon.

He wasted no time getting in my face.

“You stay the fuck away from Georgia, Haggard,” he growled, his index finger pressing into my chest.

“Way I see it, Crit, she’s old enough to make her own decisions. Now, I know you’re upset, and I can understand why you would be, but I want you to know I mean no disrespect to you, or your brothers, Crit. I have a lot of respect for your sister. I know y’all have gone through hell and back.”

“Cut the bullshit, Haggard. I don’t want to hear your smooth talking crap, trying to be all friendly and shit. As far as I can see, you and your sorry excuse for a brother have done nothing but turn everything you touch to shit, so like I said - stay away from Georgia, or you’ll be wishing you did.”

I bit my lip, the words that I really wanted to say bubbling up inside me, threatening to rush out. But I kept my cool the only way I knew how. I put myself in his shoes.

I had just beat him in the competition, I had just kissed his little sister, and as far as he believed, my next of kin had set fire to his barn and his shed. Of course he was pissed.

Any red-blooded American man would be.

“Now, Crit, I understand why you’re upset, but I —,”

I didn’t even see his fist coming. I never expected he would actually hit me, but when his fist cracked against my jaw, my ears rang and I could have sworn I saw stars. And then, I saw red. A hot flash of anger rushed over me, and I spun around and threw myself into his gut, rushing him to the ground and punching his ribs as I scrambled on top of him.

Dustin, Seth and Finn ran in just as I sat on him and pulled my fist back to punch him. Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me off of him, as we both began hollerin’ at each other.

“That’s enough, goddammit,” Dustin yelled at us both. “If you don’t stop this fuedin’ right now, I’ll have you both kicked out of the fuckin’ competition, I swear to God Almighty, I will!”

We scrambled to our feet and stared each other down. Blood trickled down my chin and I reached up to wipe it away.

“Stay the fuck away from my sister, Haggard!” Beau spat, as I grabbed my shit and walked out, slamming the door behind me.

***

Lee was waiting at my truck when I reached the parking lot. He was the last person I wanted to see, and it took all my strength not to punch him out for just showing his face.

“What the fuck are you doing here? Half the cops in this county are looking for your sorry ass,” I said.

“What the fuck happened to you?” he asked, pointing to my bloody lip.

“Nothing. Why are you here?” I asked again.

“Thought I’d hang out at the folks for a few days,” he said.

“Think again,” I said.

“Why’s that?” he asked.

“Seriously? You’re going to act innocent, Lee? First, you assaulted Georgia, and claimed you didn’t remember. Then, you set fire to the Hope’s shed, then the Baker’s bar after they cut you off, and then the Hope’s barn? You don’t think maybe the sheriff and the fire chief might have a few questions for you? You don’t think it’s best that maybe you lay low for a while? Are you really that fucking stupid?”

His eyes narrowed as he listened to me.

“You really think I did all that shit?” he asked.

I was at the end of my rope. I was sick and tired of all the fucking drama that was spinning around me and I wanted nothing more than to go home to my quiet cabin and call it a day. A little bit of time spent with Georgia would be icing on the cake. Lee, standing in front of me, like a thousand excuses for stirring up shit, was something I had no patience for in that moment.

“Lee, I wouldn’t put anything past you,” I replied warily.

He shook his head, and I could have sworn I saw a flash of pain in his eyes before he shut down.

“No, I guess you wouldn’t,” he replied, his voice steely and full of anger. “But you never really had that much faith in me anyway.”

“Show me something different, Lee,” I said, the anger rising in my voice. “All you ever show me is shit. And let me tell you, brother, lately, I’ve had enough shit in my life. You show me something different, and maybe I’ll think something different.”

Lee shook his head, and without a word, walked back to his truck, slammed the door and burned rubber out of the parking lot, his truck fishtailing around the corner until it disappeared from view.

George

“Where the fuck are you going this late at night?” Crit roared as he blocked my bedroom door.

“You’re kidding, right?” I asked.

“No, I’m not fuckin’ kidding. Beau Haggard is bad news, Georgia, don’t you see that?”

“No, I don’t actually. Now, if you’ll kindly move out of my way, I’d appreciate it.”

“No.”

“Crit, you can’t keep me here like I’m a child or your fucking prisoner or something!” I exclaimed.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, George? What are you trying to prove? Don’t you think I have enough shit to deal with without you laying up with the fuckin’ low-lifes in this town?”

“Beau Haggard is a good man, Crit,” I said, trying to reason with him. “In fact, he reminds me a lot of you.”

He paused briefly, but his mind was too clouded with anger and my comment only further offended him.

“You think he cares about you, Georgia? Those Haggard boys only want one thing from you. Look what Lee did! And I’ve seen the way Finn looks at you, too! What makes you think Beau is any different?”

“I hope he’s not, Crit,” I whispered. “Because I want him just as bad as he wants me.”

“What the fuck, Georgia!”

“I’m a grown woman, Crit! Who I choose to spend time with is none of your business, contrary to what you seem to believe. Just because they died doesn’t mean you’re my boss now!” I was screaming, and I felt the hotness on my cheeks before I even realized I was crying.

Crit looked at me, stunned into silence, and I pushed past him, running out of the house as fast as I could.

I ran past my truck, past the barn, past our fields and then past the Haggard’s farm until I reached Beau’s cabin. He was just walking out as I ran up to him.

“Hey, I was just headed out to meet you,” he said, peering at me approaching in the darkness. “I thought you said to meet at — hey are you crying?”

I threw myself into his arms, sobbing uncontrollably. He held me close, stroking my hair silently as he let me cry for what seemed like hours.

Finally, when it seemed as if every tear I could ever cry had escaped from my swollen eyes, I lifted my head and met his eyes.

“Oh, baby,” he said, pulling his head down, his lips meeting mine, as I melted into his embrace.

Somehow, we made it inside his cabin, and as soon as the door shut behind us, our clothes seemed to glide away effortlessly, and before either of us could second guess ourselves, we were tangled together in his bed, our hungry souls holding onto each other as we rocked together, our lips, hands, arms, legs, feet finding every way to touch, inch by inch, until we were connected completely, his hardness sliding into me smoothly, filling me up with the very essence of the man that I had been starving for.

My legs wrapped around his thrusting hips, pulling him deeper into my center as he kissed me passionately, his moans echoing into me as he sought even deeper depths. His cock was huge, filling me completely as he moved inside me, throbbing and twitching as I spasmed around him, begging him for more and more as I clutched him tightly.